By Kevin Cunningham

Correspondent

Both of Whitewater High School’s boys and girls cross country teams were represented at the 103rd Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Meet on Oct. 31. For the boys, only Brodie Runez qualified, as he placed sixth in the sectional.

Runez, a first-year runner competitively, finished in 54th out of 150 total runners with a time of 17:24.3. The conditions were never ideal, and by the time Runez ran his race, it was the fifth time the track had been ran on over the course of the day, creating a sloppy, muddy, course.

“Races can be difficult, tiring and painful, but you just have to push through it and get to the finish line,” Runez said. “People would ask me how I felt about the state meet and I would say that I’m anxious. It was a combination of excitement and nervousness. That was the first race we’ve had in the rain this year. I wasn’t really prepared for how squishy the ground was. You kind of sunk in at certain spots.”

Whippets head coach Chad Carstens talked about Runez’s character and how much he learned in his first year as a runner, albeit his junior year of high school. Runez’s initial interests in high school athletics included football and soccer his first two years.

“Brodie’s a great kid,” Carstens said. “I’m always looking for a kid that’s going to add value to the team. Anyone would love to have him on their team. He’s just really approachable, kind-hearted and extremely competitive. I’m sensitive to the fact that he qualified as a first-year runner because I don’t want people to think that he simply walked in and made it happen.

“He’s an extremely hard worker,” the coach continued. “He didn’t get any special treatment just because he was a new kid or had a different amount talent coming in. He definitely earned his spot on race day in terms of placing and qualifying. The state meet has the ability to humble so people.”

Runez earned first-team all-conference honors in his first year competitively running, but the state meet wasn’t all picture perfect.

“Coach Carstens told us to have no regrets,” Runez said. “I feel like at the state meet I didn’t kick early enough and I regretted that at the end of the race. I still regret it now. [I’d like to] try not getting boxed in, but that was difficult to avoid. It was pretty crowded.”

Carstens echoed Runez’s thoughts, saying that he felt Runez put forth a very good effort, but the race is something that is an experience that would stay with the junior for a long time.

“There’s just no price you can put on competing at that race because the quality of athlete is so similar,” Carstens said. “When everybody is about the same ability as you, how do you cope with that when you’re in a group of runners?” Now that he’s been there and seen how thick the racing field is, I think he’s going to be a much wiser runner. Great athletes take moments like this and motivate them to be better down the road. He is that athlete. I would bet the farm on that kid. Next year could be a lot of fun.”

Girls

On the girls side, no individual had to qualify and compete on their own as the entire team qualified for the state meet by placing second at sectionals, only coming five points behind Pewaukee in that race. Pewaukee ended up winning the state meet on Saturday by posting a team score of 112.

In second place, was Shorewood, with a team score of 138. The Whippets ended up placing seventh among 12 teams with a team total of 195 during the rainy-filled day.

Throughout the season, sophomore Allisan Barrett and senior Sarah Ziolkowski traded the torch in terms of being the top runner for the Whippets. On Halloween, it was the senior who led the way, posting a lifetime personal record (PR) of 19:44.35, good for seventh-place in Division 2.

“To run a lifetime PR there in the soft conditions,” Carstens said,” “I didn’t give it a high percentage, but I didn’t count it out. I was just so happy that she was able to have it when she did and to go out in the way that she did. She looked like the Sarah of old and simply floated her way around the course, eating up the competitors as the miles clicked by.”

Barrett ended the race second for the Whippets, posting a time of 20:18.69, which earned an 18th-place finish.

“I think Allie had a great year,” Carstens said. “She performs admirably. She is so legit. She is so passionate about cross country, her teammates and doing the best she can.”

Senior Andrea Sandoval posted a 21:00.17 for her 42nd-place finish. Freshman Nicole Tomomitsu and senior Abby King ran together once again, finishing with times of 21:25.34 and 21:26.54, good for 62nd and 66th-place, respectively.

Seniors Caleigh Judd and Lan Vo concluded their careers with times of 22:36.14 and 22:41.67, respectively.

Despite the conditions, Ziolkowski’s lifetime PR showed she didn’t mind the dreary day.

“I don’t think I’ve ever ran on a muddier course before,” Ziolkowski said. “I think it was more memorable. [The conditions] were that way for everybody, so I think it just made it more interesting.”

The group of girls all agreed that coach Carstens was great all season long about strategizing in regard to how to run each particular race. Carstens reflected on the year as a whole and his group of seniors that have represented the program.

“Seventh is outstanding,” Carstens said. “It was pretty cool, my high school coach talked to me after the meet and he said, ‘Chad, Wisconsin is a big state. There are 120 teams in Division 2 and you’re seventh. That’s pretty awesome.’ And it’s so true. Nobody in the state and coaches rankings ever thought Whitewater was better than ninth, so to place better than that was an accomplishment in and of itself.

“The prepping of this season goes all the way back to last June and showing the team an article about how Deerfield/Cambridge was going to be starting a dynasty. And I feel like they wanted it to be their time. These kids embraced that opportunity. Having that senior leadership was very vital in the team’s success this year.”